I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 116: The Ascension Ritual (7)

Eight-legged cows, six-legged chickens.

Along with them, there were monsters resembling winged pigs, three-headed sheep, and all sorts of bizarre creatures.

These were the creatures we carefully selected, specifically the ones that still looked somewhat similar to animals from Ardina. Even then, some monsters appeared so strange that it was hard to imagine they were edible.

If they were released on the Ardina continent, they might revolutionize the culinary industry in more ways than one. Unfortunately, eating them was not an option for us.

"Are you disappointed?"

"Who knows? They might taste amazing."

Aren't you curious?

Daeun laughed as if she couldn’t believe me.

"Kana, you're really curious about everything, huh? But you do know you can't eat just anything, right?"

"...I can still think about it, can't I?"

"Sure, sure."

It's thanks to such daring explorers that people eventually started eating creatures like the 'Green Rabbit.'

Shouldn't we follow in the footsteps of our ancestors who boldly experimented for future generations?

If we let fear of failure stop us, we’ll just stagnate and rot away.

...Or, maybe that's just something I'm saying for the fun of it.

If I were someone who genuinely cared about future generations, I wouldn't be hiding away in the mountains.

"When failure means death, isn’t it only natural to be afraid...? Wait, hold on. 'Green Rabbit' is actually edible?"

"You haven’t tried it?"

"Most people wouldn’t even consider eating something that looks like that, would they?"

"Yeah, true."

Normally, I'd call her dramatic, but this time, I agreed with her.

After all, if you think about the appearance of the Green Rabbit, there’s no choice but to agree.

Its fur is green, it drools poison from its mouth, and its long claws are sharp enough to rip through most leather armor with ease.

It only got its name ‘Green Rabbit’ because of its long, rabbit-like ears; beyond that, it doesn’t resemble a rabbit at all. People have even talked about renaming it, though it’s never gotten past the talking stage.

They were worried it would just cause confusion if they actually changed the name since everyone was already so used to it.

"I heard its skin, blood, and even its organs are soaked in poison. How could anyone eat that...?"

"Right after you catch it, you have to drain the blood, then soak it in mana solution for 30 days to remove the poison. Oh, but you can't eat the organs—they remain toxic no matter what you do, so be careful."

"Not that I plan on eating it or cooking it..."

Only the meat is edible.

And soaking it in mana solution doesn’t prevent it from spoiling, so you have to watch it carefully to keep it from rotting.

With the meticulous care needed to make sure it’s safe and doesn’t spoil, the meat of the Green Rabbit is a premium delicacy.

"Every time this comes up, I realize just how serious you are about food, Kana."

"...Me?"

"Yep. You can be sprawled out under the sun like a lazy cat, but as soon as the topic of food comes up, your eyes light up."

"Why a cat, though?"

"Because... you remind me of one?"

I was asking why I resembled a cat, though.

"Come to think of it, if you didn’t like food so much, we probably wouldn’t have become so close, right?"

"...What do you even think of me?"

I had to admit, Daeun bringing food every day did spare me the hassle of preparing meals.

But if it were just that, I wouldn’t have paid her much attention.

"So, then, what was it?"

"...I’m not telling."

It would be difficult to explain in words.

If I said it aloud, it might just shake the foundations of this world, so I kept my mouth shut. Daeun, catching on to my silence, gave me a mischievous grin and leaned closer, as if she had misinterpreted my reaction again.

Experience had taught me that responding half-heartedly would only lead to more trouble, so I brushed her off and continued looking around.

This place was the heart of Raxia, similar to the capital of other nations.

As a result, there was a fair amount to see here, though...

How to describe it... It had a pastoral feel.

It didn’t have the dazzling atmosphere of the capitals I knew.

"Journey, have you ever been to the capital of the Empire?"

"The Empire’s capital? Oh, you mean Solerock? Of course, I’ve been there! It’s the Empire’s capital, after all... Oh, sorry."

"It’s fine. I don’t mind."

I mean, it’s not like she swore loyalty to the Empire and joined the war. She was just sightseeing.

"Ah, that’s a relief. But why did you ask about that all of a sudden?"

"How does this place compare?"

"This place? Hmm..."

After a moment of thought, Daeun gave her answer.

"Peaceful."

Simple, too.

She whispered this, perhaps out of awareness of the nearby demons.

"Got it."

If we’re comparing, the capital of the Empire was likely more splendid than the capital of Grasis. In other nations, you wouldn’t see people farming right in the heart of the capital, so there wasn’t much of a comparison to begin with.

It seemed like this place, with its commitment to the mission bestowed by Edel, had focused only on the essentials of life—food, shelter, clothing. Other fields hadn’t developed much.

Five months in a place like this?

"Looks like I’ll need to find another way."

It was the moment I became even more determined.

Tap, tap.

What should I do?

After returning from the village tour, I fell into deep thought.

No matter how I looked at it, waiting five months here was out of the question.

But going back to Ardina and coming back later would be a hassle, not to mention I couldn’t afford to wait five months in the first place.

"Kana"

Tap, tap.

"...Stop."

Why does she keep poking me?

I glared at Daeun, who had been tapping me for a while now.

"Are you still thinking about that?"

"Of course. I’m basically stuck here for five months."

"I don’t think it’s so bad. You could go somewhere else in the meantime, right?"

"If I could do that, I would’ve already..."

"Huh? Is there some reason you can’t? Come to think of it, you haven’t really taken a proper break since we left the Holy Kingdom..."

"What are you talking about? I rested in Valtora. For several days, even."

"But that was only because we had to wait for the magic tool to be completed. I’m talking about a real break, one where you don’t think about anything, like back in Liberie."

"Uh-huh..."

"And even if it’s not exactly the same, you seem like you’re lacking some kind of peace lately. Is it because of what Edel said?"

Honestly, it’s hard to believe she even spoke to a god...

Daeun mumbled under her breath.

"I can’t say it has nothing to do with it."

"What did she say to you?"

When I first heard about the Ascension Rite, Daeun tried to stop me desperately.

She’d insisted that, unlike her, I only had one life to live and had even offered to take on the role herself.

Naturally, I didn’t accept her suggestion.

An Expert in place of me?

And one who hadn’t even reached Expert on her own?

"Funny joke."

That’s exactly what I said, word for word.

If you’re going to say something, at least make sense.

"I’ve got a great idea!"

Daeun’s sudden exclamation pulled me from my thoughts.

Since I hadn’t been thinking about anything particularly helpful, I didn’t mind the interruption.

"The issue is that there’s not enough miasma for the Ascension Rite, right? So we just need more miasma!"

"...Wow, amazing."

Truly groundbreaking insight.

No one would’ve thought of that without Daeun’s brilliance.

How did she come up with such a genius idea?

"No, that’s not what I meant! Just listen!"

"...Fine, go on."

"Gosh, you’re so annoying!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Her response still didn’t sound very convincing, so I answered nonchalantly.

"I read in... a fairy tale once. A strong enemy appeared, and since they couldn’t defeat it alone, they borrowed strength from all the people in the world to win."

"From everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"How do they borrow strength? Do they ask permission? And what exactly is this strength?"

"...It was called strength, but it was more like life force—"

As she babbled on, Daeun suddenly seemed to come to her senses.

"W-Wait! That’s not the point! The point is whether it’s possible or not!"

"Well, I need to understand the mechanics before I can try it."

"Can’t you just get inspiration from a fairy tale and create a technique or something...?"

"If it’s swordsmanship, sure."

But this isn’t swordsmanship.

If it were magic, maybe there’d be a way to forcibly extract someone’s strength.

Magic users excel in all kinds of bothersome methods, after all.

But to pull off that kind of spell, you’d need considerable skill...

An unpleasant face flashed in my mind, and I quickly shook my head to banish the thought.

"Probably impossible..."

"What if they gave it willingly instead of you taking it?"

"Willingly?"

I pondered Daeun’s suggestion and nodded.

"...That might work."

Receiving mana from others isn’t exactly forbidden, but it’s not ideal either.

It’s something you’d only do in an emergency when you’re ready to accept the risks.

Unless the mana is as pure as a dragon’s, human mana tends to be polluted, which could lead to rejection.

But in this situation, does it really matter if the miasma is polluted?

Besides, there’s no need to absorb it directly.

The Ascension Rite involves gathering miasma in the air and concentrating it into one body, so if we just gather it, Justina can handle the rest.

"I’m going to ask her."

"W-Wait! Right now? It’s already night! Wouldn’t it be rude to visit now?"

"A bit rude, maybe, but she’ll thank me once this is sorted out."

So, any rudeness now can be offset later by her gratitude.

It did feel a bit unfair, but I could live with that.

Yes. I’m generous.